Mail catching and delivering apparatus.



P. A. SHAVER.

MAIL CATCHING AND DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8. I916.

1,229,331 Patented June 12, 1912'.

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IPHIlZ-LI]? A. SHAVER, OF'PUENTE, CALIFORNIA.

MAIL CATGHIN 'G AND DETQIVERING A'EPABATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 11119, 12, 1917.

Application filed December 8, 1916. Serial No. 135,836.

To all whom it may concern: 7 Be it known that I, PHILLIP A. SHAVER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Puente in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Catching and Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to mail catching and delivering apparatus, and the primary object is to provide improved means for receiving mail from fast, moving trains whereby the mail bags will be received by the receiving apparatus in suspended position so that no injury will be done to the mail within the mail bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for delivering a plurality of mail bags simultaneously with one operation of the delivering and receiving apparatus, the receiving and delivering elements acting in'cooperation with a carrier designed to carry a plurality of bags and adapted to be deposited with the bagsat the receiving station. 1

A further objectof the invention is the provision of a mail delivering apparatus carried within the mail car and mounted to permit the apparatus to be projected from eithersideof the mail car whereby the mail may be delivered to receiving stations at either'side of the railway.

With these objects in view, together with others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel formation, combination, and arrangement of parts, all as will be'described more fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawings, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical section through themail car showing my invention applied;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary plan view of the delivering and receiving apparatus;

Fig. 3 is a detail fragmentary perspective view of one end of the delivering apparatus;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the tower for the receiving station; and

Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation of one of the carriers.

Referring to the drawing, wherein is illustrated the preferred form of my invention, the mail car A is provided at its top each end of the conveyor 7 and, therefore,

for the purposes of this description only one of the delivering apparatuses will be described. An angle iron 8 has one flange fastened to the end of the conveyor 7 and the opposite flangedepends vertically and is fastened to the, flanges 9 of a pair of retaining plates 10 having their proximate faces in engagement. The two members 10 are disposed edgewise as clearly shown by Fig. 3 of the drawings and supported by a supporting plate 11 disposed in a horizontal plane and adapted to assist the plates 10 in supporting the mail bag carriers. Right angular sleeves 12 are provided with ears through which bolts 0r fastening rivets are projected for fastening the sleeves 12 to the plates 10 and 11. The sleeves 12 are arranged in pairs'on each side of the plate 11. Spring clips 13 are provided for supporting the mail bag carriers, and each clip comprises a heavy curved wire 14 having its intermediate portion coiled to provide the springs 15 while the ends of the wire are bent at right angles and embraced by one of the angular sleeves 12. The oiiter terminal of each member 1 1 is curved outwardly to permit the mail bag carrier to pass between each pair of clip arms. Each mail bag carrier is constructed from a hollow tubular member that is substantially ovoid in cross section. Two annular depressions or grooves 16 are formed in the tubular member, and by referring to Fig. 5 of the drawing, it will be observed that the wall at one side of the groove is disposed at a considerably sharper angle than is the opposite side of the groove. The wall 17 of each groove rests upon the arms of the spring clips when each carrier is a pluralityv of hangers 18,

which are adapted to beconnected to the rings generally carried by the common type of mail bag so that a plurality of mail bags may be attached to each carrier. I

Mounted at the side of the railway, and embedded in a suitable concrete foundation 19, is a tower 20r The top of the tower ,car-

; ries a rectangular plate 21 which has a right angularly extending flange 22 depending from one edge thereof, and which is identical in construction with the dependingflange of the angle iron '8. This flange carries a receiving and; delivering structure that is identical 'in construction with the delivering structure previously described, this relative I construction being clearly shown by Fig. 2

of the drawing. In this connection, it is pointed out that the only; difference in the j right angular end portions embraced by the V delivering and receiving apparatus lies in the plane in which they are disposed, since the delivering apparatus on the mail car is disposed in a higher plane than the receiving apparatuson the tower for permitting the apparatuses to pass each other.

. I claim: V q

1. A mail transferring device comprising, a mail bag supporting device mounted within amail car and adapted to project from either side thereof, a supporting plate carried by the end of the mail bag supporting device, right angular sleeves fastened to the supporting plate, and spring clips having said right angular sleeves.

I 2. Amail transferring device comprising, a mail bag supporting device mounted with in a mailcar and adapted to project from either side thereof, a supporting plate carried by the end of the mail bag supporting device, a pair ofretaining plates disposed edgewiseonthe supporting plate and having their proximate faces in engagement, right angular sleeves mounted upon the sup porting plate and the said retaining plates, and supporting elements engageable with the right angular sleeves and supported thereby.

A mail transferring device comprising, a mail bag supporting device mounted within a mail-car,one end of the mail bag sup porting device carrying a length of angle iron having one flange depending vertically from the end of'the mail bag supporting device, retaining plates comprising right angularly bent members each having one of their flanges fastened to the depending flange of the saidangle iron, the proximate-faces .a mail bag supporting device, retaining plates carried by the mail bag supporting device, said plates having projecting flanges which latter have their proximate faces in engagement, right angular sleeves comiected to the said retaining plates, and sprlng clips carried by the right angular'sleeves. A mailtransferring device comprising, a mail bag supporting device, retaining plates carried by the mail bag supporting device, said-plates having projecting flanges which latter have their proximate faces in engagement, right angular sleeves connected to the said retaining plates, the said sleeves being arranged in pairs on each side of said retaining plates, and a spring clip carried by each of said sleeves.

6. A mail transferring device comprising, a mail bag supporting device, retaining plates carried bythe mail bag supporting device, said plates having projecting flanges which latter havetheir proximate faces in engagement, right angular sleeves connected to the said retaining plates, the said sleeves being arranged in pairs on each side of said retaining plates, a. spring clip carried by each of said sleeves, each clip being constructedfrom a length of wire having one end bent at right angles and embraced by one of the said sleeves.

7. A mail transferring device comprising,

a mail bag supporting device, retaining plates carried by the mail bag supporting device, said plates having projecting flanges which latter have their proximate faces in engagement, right angular sleeves connected to the said retaining plates, the said sleeves being arranged in pairson each side of said retainin plates, a spring clip carried by each of said sleeves, each clip being constructed from a length of wire having one end bent at right angles and embraced by one of the said sleeves, and a carrier adapted to be embraced by the said clips, the said carrier being provided with mail bag attaching elements. V

. 8. A mail transferring device comprising, a mail bag supporting device, retaining plates carried by the mailbag supporting device, said plates having projecting flanges which latter have their proximate faces in engagement, right angular sleeves connected to the said retaining plates, the said sleeve being arranged in pairs on each side of said retaining plates, a spring clip carried by each of said sleeves, each clip being constructed from a length of-Wire having one end bent at'right angles and embraced by one of the said sleeves, n oanrier adapted In testimony whereof I affix my signature to be embraced by the said clips, the said in presence of two witnesses.

carrier being provided with mail bag attaching elements, the said carrier having PHILLIP SHAVER annular grooves, the said clips being re- Witnesses:

ceived 1n the said grooves when the carrier I. WORTH EVERETT, is engaged by the clips. J. S. BEATTIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. O. 

